Brooch



NOV. 9, 1937. M, BELLOCH 2,098,820

BROOCH Filed April 16. 1957 Patented Nov. 9, 1937 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE 6 Claims.

This invention is a brooch assemblage, and an improved and novel spring clip device for securing two brooch members into a brooch assemblage.

The prior art discloses various devices for connecting together the two elements of a brooch into a brooch assemblage, many of them being of some complexity, such that they are expensive to manufacture and difficult to manipulate.

The improved spring clip device of the present invention is quite simple to manufacture, preferably being made of one piece of sheet metal, and being of such simplicity in use that no parr ticular skill is required in assembling or disassembling the completed brooch.

Brooch elements of the prior art are customarily made with a hinged clasp, and in many instances this clasp is of special construction, for cooperation with a connecting member, also usually of special construction. According to the present invention, a connecting clip is provided which will cooperate with practically any of the spring clasps customarily in use on the brooch elements and it will even connect together two brooch elements which are provided with hinged clasps of different sizes or different construction.

More specically, the spring clip of the present invention comprises a substantially flat body portion, which is provided, intermediate its ends, with a pair of resilient gripping iingers extending transversely of the long axis of the body and resiliently pressed toward the body portion. These fingers are preferably integral with the body portion and connected therewith by a U- bend, providing the necessary resiliency.

'I'he entire clip is preferably made of sheet metal and the gripping ngers which are resiliently pressed toward the body portion and substantially parallel therewith provide gripping jaws for holding between them the respective clasps on the back of the two brooch elements.

The body portion of the clip is provided, on that side opposite the resilient lingers, with a pivoted securing pin and a catch therefor, for fastening the brooch to the garment of the wearer.

'Ihe present preferred embodiment of the invention will be described more in detail in connection with the accompanying drawing, in which:

Fig. 1 is a plan view of the completed brooch;

Fig. 2 is a side View of Fig. 1;

Fig. 3 is a back View of Fig. l;

Fig. 4 is an end view of Fig. 2;

Fig. 5 is a perspective view showing the brooch elements and spring clip in disassembled relation;

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 2;

Fig. 7 shows certain of the parts of Fig. 6 in another position; and

Fig. 8 shows the spring clip engaged with different types of brooch clasps.

Referring now to the drawing, in which similar reference characters indicate similar parts, brooch members I and 2 are of conventional shape, suitably ornamented, and provided with abutting edges, as is well understood in this art. These brooch members are provided with hinged clasps 3 and 4, pivoted in the brackets 5 and 5 near the abutting edges of the brooch elements, as is well understood in the art.

The spring clip of the present invention comprises a body portion I which is substantially flat, which may be of perforate or imperforate sheet metal, as desired.

This body portion is provided with a pair of substantially flat gripping fingers 8 and 9, which extend transversely of the long axis of the body, on either side of the. transverse center line, as is apparent from Fig. 5. These gripping fingers are preferably integral with the body portion, substantially parallel therewith, and connected thereto by U-bends I0 and Il, whereby they are resiliently urged toward and bear against, the body portion 1 and form gripping jaws with the body portion. 'I'he tips of the resilient lingers 8 and 9 may be flared outwardly a little, as shown at I2, in Fig. 6.

The body portion, on that side opposite the gripping lingers B and 9, is provided with the usual securing pin I3, a pivotal mounting I4 for the pin and a suitable catch I5 therefor.

In operation, in order to assemble the brooch, the two brooch elements are brought into abutting relation, as shown in Fig. 5, with the clasps 3 and 4 in the position shown. The spring clip is then held in a position parallel to the clasps 3 and 4 and to one side thereof, and the spring y fingers are engaged over one edge of such clasps, here the right-hand edge of Fig. 5, and the clip then pressed in a direction parallel to said clasps, which will cause the spring fingers to engage underneath the clasps 3 and 4 near the pivotal mountings 5 and 6. The clip is pressed as far as it will go until it assumes the position of Fig. 3, with the gripping iingers 8 and 9 underneath the clasps and resiliently gripping them, and pressing the body portion I of the clip against the clasps, thereby forming the brooch assemblage.

Cil

The spring fingers 8 and 9 are made strong enough in their gripping action to hold the brooch assembled, and yet evidently it may readily be disassembled by endwise sliding engagement, to the right, as shown in Fig. 5.

As shown in Fig. 7, the gripping fingers have a long bearing surface, extending substantially between the points l5 and Il. long gripping range, the clip will secure together brooches having clasps 3 and 4 of different sizes, as is clearly shown in Fig. 8. Even though one of the clips is narrower than the other, the wide range of gripping action provided between the points i6 and i? will secure the brooch in secure, assembled relationship.

A particularly important feature of the spring clip of the present invention is that it may bev made and sold as a separate article of manufacture, and may be purchased as such and may be used to make brooch assemblies from brooch elements that already may be in possession of the user; and, as pointed out in connection with Fig. 8, it is capable of use with brooch assemblies having different types of clasps.

As shown in Fig. 5, the securing pin I3 is at one side of the body 'l of the spring clip, and so when the clip is in assembled position in the brooch, this pin is well to one side of the longitudinal axis of the brooch and, therefore, Well to Vone side of the center of gravity of the brooch. In use, the brooch will be worn With the pin i3 on the upper side of the brooch so that it will be above the center of gravity of the brooch, so that the brooch, in effect, will be suspended slightly, so that it rests more snugly against the dress oi" the wearer. Furthermore, the effect of gravity on the brooch when thus suspended would be to force the clasps 3 and li into the clip, toward the bend I l, to maintain a secure grip of the gripping ngers on the clasps 3 and fi, or 3 and ii.

While the present preferred embodiment of the invention has been illustrated in some detail, it should be understood that it' may be carried out in other ways, as falling within the scope of the claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A brooch assemblage, comprising a pair of brooch members, each provided with a substantially flat clasp on the back thereof, and a spring clip device for securing said brooch members in abutting relationship, said spring clip device comprising a generally hat body portion and a pair oi gripping ngers carried by `said body portion and resiliently urged toward said body portion, for endwise sliding and resilient engagement, respectively, under the clasps on the back of the brooch members.

2. A brooch assemblage, comprising a pair of brooch members, each provided with a substantially iiat clasp on the back thereof, and a spring clip device for securing said brooch members inV abutting relationship, said spring clip device comprising a generally hat body portion and a pair of gripping ngers extending transversely of the body portion and resiliently connected thereto By virtue of this Y and substantially parallel therewith, for engage"-f ment, respectively, with the inside of the clasps on the brooch members, for resiliently securing said clasps between said fingers and the body portion of the clip device.

3. A brooch assemblage, comprising a pair of brooch members, each provided with a substantially iiat clasp on the back thereof, and a spring clip device for securing said brooch members in abutting relationship, said spring clip device conn prising a generally flat body' portion and a pair of substantially iiat gripping fingers, resiliently and integrally connected With the body portion by a U-shaped bend, Vsaid'iingers being respectively engageable with the inside surfaces of said clasps, for resiliently securing said clasps between said ngers and the body portion oi the clip device.

side of the body portion opposite said gripping fingers.

5. A brooch assemblage, comprising a pair of brooch members, each provided with a substantially flat clasp on the back thereof, and a spring clip device for securing said brooch members in abutting relationship, said spring clip device comprising a generally flat body portion and a pair of gripping iingers extending transversely of the body portion and resiliently connected thereto and substantially parallel therewith, for engagement, respectively, with the inside oi' theV clasps on the brooch members, for resiliently securing said clasps between said ngers and the body portion ofthe clip'device, said spring clip device having a'securing pin and catch therefor on that side of the body portion opposite said gripping fingers.

6. A brooch assemblage, comprising a pair ci brooch members, each provided with a substanu tially :dat clasp on the back thereof, and a spring clip device for securing said brooch members in abutting relationship, said spring clip device comprising a generally :dat body portion and a pair of substantially iiat gripping fingers, resiliently and integrally connected with the body portion by a U-shaped bend, said ngers being respectively engageable with the inside surfaces of said clasps, for resiliently securing said clasps between said ngers and the body portion of the clip de- Vice, said spring Vclip device having a securing pin and catch therefor on that side of the body portion opposite said gripping ngers.

MORRIS BELLOCH. 

